Ludhiana: 2 months on, man held for sexually assaulting 8-year-old

Two months after a scooter-borne man allegedly sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in the street, the Shimlapuri police arrested the accused on Saturday. The police have also seized the scooter that the accused, 44-year-old Bhupinder Singh of Shimlapuri, used to escape after the incident.

Shimlapuri station-house officer (SHO) inspector Balwinder Singh said the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the street captured the incident and police traced the accused by scanning the footage. The accused was produced before a court on Sunday and sent on judicial remand.

The first-information report (FIR) was registered following a statement by the minor’s father, who is also a resident of Shimlapuri.

In the complaint, he said that his daughter returned home on July 31 and was scared and breathing heavily.

On being asked, she told him that a scooter-borne man intercepted her way and touched her ‘inappropriately’. She said the accused also tried to sexually assault her, but she managed to escape. The complainant said they tried to search for the accused, but to no avail.

The FIR under was registered under Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The SHO added that the accused already has two cases under the Gambling Act against him, registered at Model Town and Daba police stations.